Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2021 i Decanter

EDITOR’S LETTER It’s all yours In her latest column, our correspondent Jane Anson (see p16) raises an interesting point. En primeur coverage has sparked a lot of conversation recently, with some asking why we devote space to something that is claimed to be of fairly niche interest, and only an early clue to the quality of wines which may well be some years from optimum drinkability. So why do we do it? Because, quite simply, our readers find it interesting. We know that lots of people log on to our website, open our emails and buy our magazine to read about it. So we continue to cover it. The same is true for many other subjects. But what we’d like to know is: what aren’t we covering that we should?…

IN MY GLASS THIS MONTH I can’t talk about ArnaldoRivera without mentioning its blend Undicicomuni, made using Nebbiolo from all 11 villages (hence the name) in the Barolo appellation – the only blend in the region to do so. Indeed, from the 2018 vintage it will expand to include 21 different crus. Undicicomuni 2017 is aromatically delicate, gentle and enticing, full of soft cherry and soft leather. The mainly old-vine fruit sings out on the palate: exuberant, almost juicy, yet lent gravity and seriousness by dense Nebbiolo tannins.…

Reading the results Jane Anson tastes all en primeur wines non-blind. This allows her to take into account her experience of the wine’s heritage and likely development, and ensures a level playing field. Many top growths do not submit their wines to the generic tastings, meaning it is not possible to taste such wines blind. Wines are marked on the 100-point scale. For full tasting notes on all the wines Jane Anson tasted and for the latest pricing news once available, please visit decanter.com/bordeaux-2020 Wines shown here are ordered by commune, then by score, with wines of the same score listed alphabetically. The ‘Top value’ wines are Anson’s selection of wines she feels are punching above their weight. Alcohols are given where available, as well as prices and stockists for…

Our top 25 sparkling crémants If you haven’t discovered the connoisseur’s fizz yet, here are 25 sparkling reasons to explore France’s wide range of deliciously on-trend, bottle-fermented crémant styles STORY GEORGINA HINDLE While Champagne gets much of the sparkling wine glory, with its established image of prestige, and Prosecco the lion's share of attention at the more affordable end of the market, there is no French wine category more versatile and complex than its crémant sparkling wines. This single designation comprises eight officially classified appellation regions within France, including Crémant de Alsace, de Bordeaux, de Bourgogne, de Loire and de Limoux, each with its own distinct style and unique blend of grapes best-suited to its region. Indeed a glass of crémant could comprise 100% of varieties including Riesling, Chenin Blanc…

AUSTRALIA Sly’s pick: 18 wines that celebrate Adelaide Hills’ diversity In April 2021, David Sly tasted 176 wines for a special Adelaide Hills report for Decanter. Here we show 18 of the highest-scoring wines with UK availability, but to find 158 more wines, including other higher-scoring producers such as Gentle Folk, go to decanter.com/premium for Sly’s series of articles (by grape variety) 1 Murdoch Hill, The Rocket Chardonnay 2020 98 £49 Pip of Manor Farm It’s lean, sprightly and immediately delicious. The racy front palate has fresh lemon zing and a smart savoury drawstring around the waist. Complexity unfurls as flavours gently roll without ever intruding on the lightness and bounce of the palate. It’s cleverly understated, yet highly sophisticated; a lively dancer that’s great fun to be with. Drink 2021-2026…

A matter of TASTE Think vodka is a bland, flavourless spirit? Think again. With producers focusing on provenance and terroir, vodka is reinventing itself as a characterful choice for connoisseurs STORY RICHARD WOODARD ‘Vodka creates flavours that other spirits just can’t’Ago Perrone Back in 1939, when a little-known vodka called Smirnoff was first sold in the US, it used a memorable – if technically incorrect – strapline: ‘Smirnoff white whiskey: no smell, no taste’. Given that the brand now sells roughly 25m cases a year around the world, the approach seems to have worked. To most people, blank neutrality epitomises vodka. It is the chameleon of spirits, an efficient and malleable alcohol delivery system that takes on whatever flavours you throw at it in any number of cocktails or mixed…

The wines to match RIESLING With the sweeter flavour characteristic of the ribs in mind, Riesling would work well. It isn’t necessary to go bone-dry, as you have acidity in the slaw already (if you’re serving this as a side), and a little residual sugar will marry well with the sweetness in the ribs. Try: Stadt Krems, Riesling Ried Grillenparz 1ÖTW, Kremstal, Austria 2019 93 £32.67 Clark Foyster A characteristically exotic nose of guava, ripe mango and peach, with a hint of grass. The tropical mango fruit follows to the palate, with bitter grapefruit rind, nectarine and citrus. A touch of residual sugar (4.8g/L) balances the acidity well. Drink 2021-2026 Alc 13.5% ORANGE WINE In white winemaking, the juice from white grapes is usually separated from the grape skins, then…

Meet the Decanter experts SARAH AHMED is an award-winning wine writer, educator and judge specialising in Portugal and Australia. She is DWWA Regional Chair for Portugal, and publishes on her own website thewinedetective.co.uk JANE ANSON is a Decanter contributing editor and DWWA Regional Chair for Bordeaux, where she also lives. Her most recent book is an in-depth study of the region, Inside Bordeaux (£60, BB&R Press) SARAH JANE EVANS MW is an award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster, and DWWA Co-Chair. Author of The Wines of Northern Spain (Infinite Ideas, 2018), she is also current chair of Spain’s Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino ANDY HOWARD MW is a Decanter contributing editor and a DWWA Regional Chair. A former retail wine buyer, he now runs his own wine consultancy Vinetrades Ltd,…

LETTER OF THE MONTH Have blockbuster reds had their day? There appears to be something of a move away from eating red meat, in the UK at any rate. I wonder whether there are rising implications here for the wine industry – producers, importers, restaurants and retailers. To my mind, reds generally seem to enjoy a higher profile than whites, especially at the premium level. Maybe this will continue. However, could there be increasing impetus away from reds designed for drinking with classic red meat dishes, or ʻblockbuster’ styles, to fresher, more approachable, more versatile and hopefully lower-alcohol styles. Richard Davis, Dingwall, Ross-shire, Scotland, UK PS: I didn’t know whether to be impressed or appalled that Jane Anson was drinking a £100 bottle Chateau d’Esclans, Garrus Rosé, Cotes de Provence…

UNCORKED ‘Is en primeur perfect? Far from it. But...’ Jane Anson Recently I took part in an online event (is there any other kind?) with the Commanderie de Bordeaux in Edinburgh. It took the form of a chat with The Sunday Times wine writer Will Lyons. We were talking about all things Bordeaux, and he said something that really struck home – that some wine writers seem almost embarrassed to be covering Bordeaux, and that the only time he ever gets trolled as a critic is when he is covering the en primeur season. It’s no secret that highly respected critic Jancis Robinson MW has spoken about her conflicted feelings in exactly this area. In 2017, she wrote about ‘the madness of en primeur’, and has said more recently that…

THE JUDGES Andy Howard MW is a Decanter contributing editor and a DWWA Regional Chair. Formerly a wine buyer in retail for 30 years, he now runs his own wine consultancy Vinetrades Ltd, focusing on wine education, investment and sourcing Rosemary George MW is a widely published wine writer, author and judge, with a special interest in the wines of southern France and Burgundy. The latest of her numerous books is The Wines of Roussillon (£30, Infinite Ideas, April 2021) Dominique Vrigneau is the DWWA Regional Chair for Beaujolais, the Southwest & Rest of France. Formerly the long-serving buying director for UK merchant Thierry’s Wine Services, he has been a director at Watermill Wines since late 2012…

WEEKDAY WINES Looking to try something different or adventurous, but don’t want to make an expensive mistake? The Decanter team has done all the hard work for you, picking out 25 exciting and accessible wines which are available in the UK and priced at £20 or less RECOMMENDED BY JAMES BUTTON, NATALIE EARL, TINA GELLIE, GEORGIE HINDLE, JULIE SHEPPARD, AMY WISLOCKI & SYLVIA WU Costellore, Rosé Extra Dry, Prosecco, Veneto, Italy 2020 £6.49 Aldi This has 15g/L residual sugar but is fresh and well-balanced. A pale pink rose colour in the glass, it's a fragrant style with wild strawberry fruit and floral notes. Enjoyable, and very good value indeed. AW Alcohol 11% Loimer, Grüner Veltliner, Kamptal, Austria 2019 £14.95 Vinified Wine Stone fruit, yellow apple and ripe peach with crushed…

LOOKING AHEAD DOMINIO DE PINGUS 2020 Pingus 2020, the highly regarded Spanish wine produced by Peter Sisseck in Ribera del Duero, was set for release en primeur from July. Flor de Pingus and Psi 2020 wines were also due for release at the same time, according to UK agent and merchant Corney & Barrow. DOM PERIGNON 2012 It emerged in June this year that Dom Pérignon 2012 is set to launch in the autumn, and specifically from October in the UK. Given the interest in the 2012 vintage generally, this should be interesting to track. There will also be a ‘second plenitude’, or P2, release of Dom Pérignon 2003. PETRUS 2020 The Bordeaux en primeur campaign may have started back in May, but Petrus 2020 is expected to be released…

THE BORDEAUX INDEX VIEW Fine wine & spirits specialists Bordeaux Index kindly sponsor this section of Decanter, and provide their view on the market here. They can be found at bordeauxindex.com Champagne has been one of the best-performing segments of the market in recent years, with US trade tariffs and the strong 2008 vintage helping to fuel existing positive momentum. The segment is perhaps the clearest example of supply/demand dynamics in fine wine, with older vintages (most recently 2002 and 2004) seeing significant moves once supply dwindles – something that happens in quite a short time-window, especially given the level of early consumption. Two notable recent factors: the interplay of Krug and Cristal, the latter having gained ground before Krug recovered more recently, driven (as the chart shows) in particular…

UNCORKED ‘For some people, money isn’t all that matters’ Andrew Jefford Good old cooperatives – the source of most value wine made in Europe. Ask any supermarket buyer: the shelves would look ragged without them. What a shame they can’t do fine wine too. Or can they? La Chablisienne in Chablis and Cave de Tain in the northern Rhône compete squarely with individual growers; Plaimont has fine-wine offerings from the southwest; and who wouldn’t enjoy a glass of blanc de blancs grand cru Champagne from Le Mesnil? Alto Adige’s Cantina Terlano and Valle Isarco provide some of Italy’s finest whites, while Barbaresco’s Produttori and the Wachau’s Domäne Wachau both furnish a suite of regional benchmarks. I’ve been amazed, recently, by the elegantly bottled, acacia barrel-aged Acaciae Picpoul de Pinet from…

Portugal’s power couples Meet three winemaking couples who have put their wines on the map by working together, both as a lockdown necessity and a permanent partnership STORY SARAH AHMED For many couples, living and working in the same space 24/7 during lockdown has been akin to a social experiment – often with less-than-successful results, judging by the spike in divorce rates over the past year. How does one navigate the pitfalls so that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? Portuguese wine producers are well versed in the art of blending. For three egalitarian ‘power couples’, the road map was already drawn. Turbocharged communication skills and pooled resources have fuelled the success of millennial labels from Sandra Tavares da Silva and Jorge Serôdio Borges (Wine & Soul), Filipa Pato and William…

Value in the Hills: stars of South Australia For a region still exploring its strengths, there’s modesty among Adelaide Hills producers – which means there’s also value in many of their wines. For example, Bird in Hand’s Syrah 2018 – not to be confused with the Shiraz – is available in the UK at below £18. The full range of wines is available through a UK-based Bird in Hand online shop, and there is some distribution in the US. And Shaw & Smith (in the US and via Liberty Wines in the UK) offers incredible value in its Sauvignon Blanc, M3 Chardonnay and Shiraz – each from less than £25. Sadly, there’s no presence in either the UK or the US for Simon Tolley, Saint & Scholar, Tomich Wines or…

FIVE OF THE BEST: GINS FOR SUMMER RECOMMENDED BY JULIE SHEPPARD 1 Adnams Jardín Mexicano Gin £31.99/70cl Adnams This limited-edition vegan gin is made with 10 botanicals inspired by Mexican cookery, including avocado leaf, lime peel and coriander. Delivering a classic hit of juniper, it’s also leafy, fresh and herbaceous with a hint of smokiness on the nose. Silky textured, with a subtle chilli spice kick to the finish, it makes a really refreshing G&T. Garnish with lime. Alcohol 40% 2 Bullards Coastal Gin £37.74-£40/70cl Country Attire, Master of Malt, Spirits Kiosk, The Drink Shop, Virgin Wines Taking inspiration from the Norfolk coastline, botanicals include hand-foraged sea aster, marsh samphire and sea purslane. I love the coastal aromas: notes of seaweed and wet stone, like walking over rock pools. There’s…

PERFECT PAIRING Tamworth BELLY RIBS The most popular starter at London steakhouse chain Hawksmoor is a great summer dish to recreate at home. Serve it with one of our wine matches for pork perfection STORY MARK QUICK, WINE BUYER, HAWKSMOOR GROUP PHOTOGRAPH PAUL WINCH-FURNESS The first branch of our now wildly successful restaurant chain Hawksmoor opened in a former kebab shop in east London in 2006. Fast-forward many, many great steaks – the best ever tasted in this country, according to UK restaurant critic Jay Rayner – and there are now six branches in the UK capital, plus one each in Manchester and Edinburgh. That journey is charted in Hawksmoor: Restaurants & Recipes. ‘We wanted to be brutally honest about the realities of setting up and running a restaurant,’ says…

Ask Decanter Each month our experts answer your burning wine questions. Email your questions to editor@decanter.com STORING MADEIRA How should you store Madeira: on its side, as is the convention for non-fortified wines, or upright? Also, should a cork ever be replaced on a very old bottle of Madeira? Sean Cox, by email Richard Mayson, DWWA Regional Chair for Port & Madeira, replies: Madeira is one of the easiest wines to store. Having been exposed to heat and oxygen during the winemaking process, Madeira is nowhere near as demanding as other wines. There is no need to lay down a bottle of Madeira in a cool cellar. With the exception of colheita and frasqueira (vintage) Madeira, most wines are bottled with stopper corks and should be left standing upright. Vintage…

The Decanter guarantee Our buying guide provides you with trusted, independent, expert recommendations on what to buy, drink and cellar. Each panel tasting is judged by three experienced tasters chosen for their authority in the category of wine being rated. All wines are tasted blind and are pre-poured for judges in flights of 8-10 wines. Our experts taste and score wines individually but then discuss their scores together at the end of each flight. Any wines on which scores are markedly different are retasted; however, judges are under no obligation to amend their scores. Judges are encouraged to look for typicity in wines, rewarding those that are true to their region. When judging, experts are aware of wine price bands – under £15, £15-£30 and over £30 – with the…

WEEKEND WINES Planning to splash out a little bit more to celebrate your weekend in style? As a companion selection to our 25 wines under £20, the Decanter team has selected seven standout bottles that are sure to impress, all available in the UK and priced between £20 and £50 RECOMMENDED BY JAMES BUTTON, TINA GELLIE, GEORGINA HINDLE, JULIE SHEPPARD & SYLVIA WU Busi Jacobsohn, Single Estate Cuvée Brut, East Sussex, England 2018 £38 Busi Jacobsohn A savoury nose of yeast opens up to lemon zest, pears and white blossom. In an explosion of bubbles, there are crisp lemon and green apple fruits on the palate with rich brioche and butter on the lingering finish. Light, smooth and precise. SW Alc 12% Red Newt Cellars, Dry Riesling, Finger Lakes, New…

Tasted & rated for Decanter Premium Billecart-Salmon, Elisabeth Salmon Brut Rosé, Champagne 2008 98pts An example of serious rosé Champagne at the top of the market, the 2008 was recently launched and rated 98 points by expert Peter Liem. ‘A superb vintage of this renowned prestige cuvée,’ said Liem, who also co-hosted a Decanter virtual masterclass with Billecart-Salmon. ‘Despite ageing on its lees for 10 years, it remains almost shockingly youthful,’ Liem said. At the time of writing, Farr Vintners was selling 12 bottles in bond for £1,380. Millésima UK was selling one bottle in a presentation case for £180 or a magnum for £410, both including duty & VAT. Collectors and investors will find a wealth of useful information on decanter.com/premium, including expert assessments of new vintage releases and…

WORKING WINE TO 5 Olly Smith Wine broadcaster, author, columnist From Pingu to Pingus… how did that happen?! I loved being a screenwriter – from Charlie and Lola to Wallace and Gromit, writing animation was my speciality. Pingu was a particular hoot; I worked on more than three series and there’s a script on my website (ollysmith.com) to show how my job took shape. But I’d previously worked for Orange & Co vintners in Jersey, where I grew up, and I couldn’t shake my enthusiasm for wine. In 2004, my screenwriter friend Mark Huckerby encouraged me to enter Wine Idol, a competition sponsored by Australian brand Hardys in search of a new wine communicator. I was delighted to win, and part of the prize was an audition to appear on…